We live in a round the clock news cycle where repetition is rife. There seems to be little good news while a vast proportion is saddening and depressing. Indeed some of the tripe or lifestyle news we are subjected to really does make you scream at the newspaper you're reading, the radio or the device you're watching. Here's your chance to respond to a given headline with up to a 30 line poem or a 300 word story. Submissions will be published on this page and eventually feature in their own book.
Britain is not what it used to be
Britain is not what it used to be
Britain has declined
it’s not what it used to be
although I don’t live here anymore
this deeply saddens me.
I still visit when I can
as to me it’s still my home
but I am not liking what I see
in some places I’m scared to roam.
The characters that made Britain great
all seem to have disappeared
now people just stare into smartphones
a fact I find quite weird.
Doctors striking, bin men too
a bitter pill to swallow
Nigel Farage at the head of the queue
what new party will he create tomorrow?
The NHS in disarray
unemployment rife
all the dentists have disappeared
what a way to live your life.
You may think I have no right to criticise
but I was here for 55 years
as I look at the carnage from far away
I am often led to tears.
Britain is still a wonderful place
it will be Great forever
let’s pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off
and put it back together.
Garry Davidson
Diminishing wildlife
Where, oh where, have all the animals gone?
The green Mallard duck, the feathery, ivory swan?
I used to see brown rabbits frolicking, wild and free.
Now I look out my window and there is nothing to see?
Not long ago, I noticed a russet brown Fox.
Pheasants galore, iridescent, the colour of the cock.
Hedgehogs, spiny balls, patrolled 'neath our hedge
and Badgers would roam close by, to the border's edge.
Plenty of birds, fed on seed and food scraps.
Maybe they've gone next door, maybe, perhaps?
Frogs and brown Toads were always a special sight.
Found near my pond, they crawled or leapt out, at night.
Chirpy sparrows would alight, chattering on the ground.
Grass snakes, slithered across the lawn, not making a sound.
Now it is quiet, they have visited us and all, have gone.
Depleted, man is the culprit, affecting every one.
Hunted, shot, poisoned, reduced habitats...
No wonder the populations have taken a dive,
I wanted to see these animals not dead, but alive.
They were part of the countryside, adding to the rural charm.
I love to see wildlife, such a "shot in the arm"!
It's a sad time for these creatures, for which I will always yearn.
If only man realised what an imposter he was- if only he would learn!
Laura Sanders
Recession
The word urges--
like a morbid taste.
Jobs lost post-haste,
dangling by a cord,
loosely moored.
Tilted, putrid--
London’s sewerage,
poisoning the vulnerable.
Has it?
Or are we just
taking another tumble?
Has anything really changed?
You’re suited, booted,
well-spoken, well-fruited,
making decisions--
polluted.
Capable?
Or just labelled so?
The damp days are over, they say--
a more robust London, stronger;
stiff upper lip--
please don’t trip.
Mass market mantra:
we will not fall.
So stand tall--
though decisions
still affect us all.
Sadiq Khan,
Keir Starmer,
Boris Johnson,
Nigel Farage--
A toot,
another one in,
another one the boot.
Change--
so close,
you can almost hear it:
toot, toot.
Nisha Pearson
Trump Wants Canada for a 51st state
A little love for the patriots
maybe your eyes water up a bit
and your hand just moves over your heart
the same holds true wherever it's home
even for an Eskimo up north in Nome
when the anthem’s on: something inside gets lit.
But is it country where it begins and ends?
Or is it something that runs naturally deeper
does a babe ponder the senate or high commission?
No, yet he smiles when he’s back home from the pediatrician
home is there before any civics class he attends.
When the posture of your country is troubling, just remember
we still stand at attention but it’s out of respect for more
streets where our mothers walked us to school
our fathers’ porches and life’s stories, to make a boy drool
for this, one’s own country, no one wants to offend her.
For our friends and amis north of us we love you dearly
but it’s been said before oh how words can hurt
you’ve been with us through Omaha and Juno
those of us here relive our trips to yours, just so you know
you’re our friends, it must be stated so clearly.
It’s a wonder sometimes where people can take up residency
but I see it painfully so in my dear home right here
some people are asking how a guy like this can get elected.
It’s easy just look at the opposition, half the vote was from the defected
have a purge, go back to JFK and maybe you’ll see a presidency.
To all our friends, north south east and west
we’re not a country of haters
it’s that high office won’t go to a gender denier
and if your focus is pronouns forget it you won’t make it either
patriotism could use some love so let’s all pray for the best.
Tom Bowler
Just one oak tree is home to 2,300 species, according to the Woodland Trust
The living oak tree
2,300 different dwellers thrive in an oak tree
- from the wise old Tawny owl,
to the stripey Bumblebee!
That's many types of homes, nests of twigs or straw.
To shelter flapping crows, woodpeckers,
blue-eyed jackdaws.
All these species flourish
in leaves and trunks and bark.
Some emerge in daylight,
others come out at dark.
Stripey caterpillars, butterflies,
beatles of shiny green.
Nature hides in the oak tree,
so as not to be seen.
Laura Sanders
The mighty oak
You're the grand, old man of the woods,
no one knows for how long you have stood.
Only your circular tree rings will reveal,
the length of time you've overhung that field.
Reaching out with twisted, brown, bare arms,
hoping you'll come to no sudden harm.
With bright, green glowing canopy,
you're a friend to the bird, owl and the bee.
And seeing all the folk come and go,
whilst weathering the rain, sun and snow.
Bet you could tell us many an interesting story,
some happy, some just plain gory!
Trying not to laugh at it all,
but reaching up skywards, proud and tall.
Stretching out desperate, for earth given life,
yet providing a safe haven, for all creatures, running rife.
With ridged and hoary, flaky dull bark
and wavy cut leaves, so green, yet dark,
a tree filled with many writhing "snakes",
you make the country, an interesting place.
Swaying alive, in hostile winds.
Oaks are my favourite, they will always win!
Laura Sanders
Trump wants Canada to be America's 51st state
A Patriotic Right
Protecting the boundaries of a country is a patriotic right
rules and regulations spelled out in black and white
radar to detect the unwanted, signs to mark the border
flags to mark the territory, military to keep the order.
Every person has a label to the country of their origin
proud with the association of like-minded friends and kin
not one to over-boast, but I love my home and native land
when I am travelling the world, it’s like my personal brand.
Ask me what makes it special and you could be there a while
stories of our upbringing that will surely make you smile
with our heritage and history, we will probably go on and on
proud to be connected with our own national anthem song.
But the last two hundred years have changed our world a lot
people crossing borders, calling home in a different spot
what will happen to our country, what will happen to our border
will we be conquered by a president with a personality disorder?
Don Hamaliuk
The wildfires of California
The ingredients for wildfire devastation were slowly blending
together. High winds, intense heat and a tinder box environment,
almost everything required. The only thing missing, a spark from a
bbq, or a cigarette butt thrown from the open window of a passing
car. Just a matter of when and not if.
Wilbur and Nancy were an elderly retired couple who lived in the
Palisades, near to Malibu. They had been watching the TV news for
hourly updates on the weather conditions, and noted how worried
the TV news and weather presenters appeared to be.
They had never been affected directly by the fires in the past but
acknowledged there would always be a chance they might be
diverted their way. They did all they could to prepare for the worst
but how on earth can you prepare for something that can destroy life
and property in just a few minutes?
They had two suitcases packed with essentials and a third with
valuables and ‘sentimentals’. The suitcases were neatly lined up in
the hallway. The car was kept outside of the garage and had a tank
full of gas. They were ready to go at the drop of a hat.
Their hearts were pounding and they were treading on eggshells as
news reached them that a couple of fires had ignited relatively near
by and were being whipped up by 70mph winds. The wind direction
should have directed the fires away from their house but changed in
a few minutes. They were ordered to evacuate immediately.
On the TV the President elect in his quest to make America great again
and oblivious to global warming, was attributing blame for poor fire
management to various state officials -
Wilbur and Nancy never made it to the car.
Garry Davidson
The California wildfires at it again.
Don H
Scrambling for a footing
Living ain’t always easy and there are times that it gets strained
confusion will set in when some things can’t be explained
a disaster in the making could destroy your family home
everyone around you is astounded, so you are not alone.
This carnage is threatening destruction, nothing is immune
scrambling for a footing when Mother Nature is out of tune
it all seems so very easy and you want to wish it all away
give relief from such anxiety that’s fogging-up this day.
But the reality of this disaster is it needs an immediate decision
and your future plans get hazy when viewed with foggy vision
a mind-numbing plan presented, your safety’s on the line
you should move to somewhere safer, where you will be fine.
Well that sounds so very easy, just pack-up a few things and go
leave all those treasured memories, what an emotional blow
you’ve built a family of this neighbourhood, the nicest one around
you ain’t goin’, you like it here, you’re going to stand your ground.
Don Hamaliuk
December 2024
About 11 million people in the UK, a quarter of the working age population aged 16 to 64 do not have a job. In the United States about 6.9 million people are unemployed, about 4.1 per cent of the population.
A new dawn of control
by Kamran Connelly
Hidden in a plain looking building, inside an unmarked conference suite, twenty-seven money monsters gathered in secrecy. Underneath the veil of anonymity, they sat with their true forms revealed. Horns, hoofs and fangs, freely hung. Among them, the heads of the IMF, the World Bank, the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve. All of them dressed in tailored clothes, worth more in total than the average house. The reason for the surreptitious assembly of clandestine characters, to initiate a crash. To deliberately steer the economy of the developed world off the edge of a cliff like Thelma and Louise, killing the monetary system. In order that a new dawn of control emerged.
“Current figures show a quarter of the population in the UK are out of work,” hissed the beast from the Bank of England.
“We’re not quite there yet. But we are hopefully that we can reach ten per cent, very soon,” huffed the horned creature from the Federal Reserve.
The boar from the IMF raised its filthy head from the trough of fine foods on the table and declared, “Print more! Devalue! Debase! More of them will lose hope. When the money becomes worthless. Work will be pointless,” she scoffed with a full mouth, spitting pieces of meat across the conference table.
The beast from England flicked its slimy forked tongue across the table to collect the scraps. “When it’s worth nothing, they will have no choice. Our stipend will be the only light in the darkness we create,” the boar continued.
“Here, here,” the monsters cheered, banging their hoofs against the table.
“We’ll give them digital tokens and call it money. Govern what they buy, where and when,” the boar said, “Then we’ll control every single one of them, and it will all be ours.”
Make America Great Again
Undermining accusing politicking in the greatest country on earth
bullying a way into power, attacking the opposition’s self-worth
vetoing every legislation, making deals that may never be kept
confusing the unsuspecting electorate will produce the desired effect.
Sitting on the fence on so many issues, what did they even say
the stand they took before is so much different than today
illegals sneaking in our country, we need to build the wall
a promise to reduce the national debt and tax cuts for all.
Can we get a “Hell Yea” President Trump is in the house
an achievement of the impossible without the fake news rouse
the whole world is watching a free country’s fair campaign
just to see what’s it going to take to “Make America Great Again”.
Don Hamaliuk
April 2024
Shoplifting is on the rise in the UK
Get rid of it
by Kamran Connelly
As the roller shutter went up it hummed with electronic assistance, as it wound in on itself to reveal the shop front window. Steve, who was stood at the box that operated them, didn’t notice the anomaly on the other side of the glass until he put his key into the door. Sat on the floor licking its gigantic paws was a German Shepherd, completely unknown to him. He jolted back as his eyes registered the image with his brain, and confusion besieged him. A car pulled in behind him and his business partner jumped out, gleeful and full of beans he arrived at his side.
“Well, what do think?” he asked.
Steve looked at him, smirking like an idiot and then back to the strange canine beyond the door.
“What do I think of what?” he replied.
“The dog, I got him last night. Thought I’d surprise ya.”
“Mission accomplished Terry, now tell me what the hell we’re supposed to do with him mate.”
“I told you I saw that documentary, shoplifting is on the rise in the UK. He’s fully trained to attack under command,” Terry bragged.
The pair gazed at the beautiful beast, its coat a mottled mixture of browns, more wolf-like in its size and presence.
“He looks the business doesn’t he?” Terry said with pride.
“Yeah, he does. Come here mate,” Steve said and guided Terry a few feet back from the window with a disappointed look.
He pointed at the sign over the shop. Terry looked up at it.
“What do we sell here Terry?”
“Holidays,” answered Terry.
“We’re a bloody travel agents Terry! There’s nothing to nick you idiot.”
Realisation smacked the pride from Terry’s face.
“Get rid of it,” Steve said and walked away.
Only the essentials
by Donna Turner
“That’s thirty-four pounds ninety, please love,” the cashier says to a young woman trying to balance a baby with one arm and reach for her purse with the other.
“Sorry. I don’t have enough.” Her eyes watery, her voice breaking, “Can I put something back?”
The cashier feels a lump form in her throat. This is a situation becoming more common.
Three customers yesterday had to take items off and one man had his card declined. After mumbling something about a missed payment, he left empty handed.
“That’s fine, how much do we need to lose?” she asked the young woman kindly.
“About five pounds please.”
The cashier felt worse. Sometimes customers got angry, but this woman was just sad, almost defeated. The cashier looked at the shopping; baby formula, value bread and beans, a few freezer fillers, toilet paper, there was nothing that didn’t feel like an essential item.
“I’ve just remembered,” the cashier told the young woman, “a customer earlier had a five pound voucher they didn’t need, they said keep it and give it to someone else. How about we use that?”
The young woman was visibly relieved. “Thank you, that would be great,” she said, struggling now to keep the tears from falling. The cashier took the young woman’s thirty pounds and put it in the till. She’d need to put the five pounds in later otherwise she’d be in trouble for her till being short.
She thanked the young mum and watched her walk towards the door, only to be stopped by the resident security guard.
“Excuse me miss,” he reached down to the basket under the battered buggy and pulled out a pack of nappies. “I don’t believe you’ve paid for these, You’ll have to come with me.”
The cashier's heart broke.
Open your windows
(inspiration from the 1976 film, Network)
I used to be afraid
of the angry dog next door, named Sugar.
Then I was afraid of swallowing an apple
pip, which could grow a tree inside me;
I stayed awake one long eye-wide night
waiting for its leafy branches to rustle
out of my ears at the speed of creation
birthing apples to outnumber the stars
and me ending as a five dollar-a-view circus freak!
My mother loved scary stories
though one night in a sweat I screamed,
"Mum! There’s a man
with a gun at my window!"
"Go back to sleep," said she yawing in her room.
How was I to know it was a shadow
shaped by a dead tree between the moon
onto my bedroom window!
Older, my wings grew and I flew
far from manipulating men
until I found a man dressed in white
who loves God greater than he loves me
then fear moved on to terrify someone else.
But lately my soul is vibrating
waiting for a knife to plunge my heart
in a supermarket – for a drone
to bomb my home – someone to murder me
as I walk in the bush alone. And nobody will
be gathering mushrooms from the shelves now;
I wonder if tinned mushroom soup is fatal?
I knelt in a church in a country town
and entered the fear-filled hush
of a congregation halfway through Mass
as thick oak doors slammed bang open
against the walls as a storm-filled man
thundered up the centre isle to the priest
yelling and waving his arms about.
"I want to speak to the Pope!"
Three men stood ready to save the priest -
thank God the man didn’t have a weapon!
Now I’m watching wars that need not happen,
causing children to starve and keel
to pick grains of rice out of dirt.
Before long Australia will be
a country of memorials!
I beg all people to NOW stand up!
‘Stand up from your chairs: man, woman and child
open your windows – stick your heads out
and yell, "I’m mad as hell
and I’m not going to take it any more!"
Jan Price
You walk in
without a care in the world, it seems
you help yourself
to the drinks, to the sandwiches
maybe you are just dirty thieves, scoundrels
or maybe you are desperate
hungry and starving
we do not know what life you lead
maybe you are desperate and take drugs and need money
so you swap food for cash
we see you, we notice you stealing
but maybe we are not noticing the reason why
when we look, when we serve
but don't think we don't care when we stand there
we walk in, we notice
but when all is said and done
you shoplift
and it is WRONG!
Kate Geoghegan
Britain is not what it used to be
Britain has declined
it’s not what it used to be
although I don’t live here anymore
this deeply saddens me.
I still visit when I can
as to me it’s still my home
but I am not liking what I see
in some places I’m scared to roam.
The characters that made Britain great
all seem to have disappeared
now people just stare into smartphones
a fact I find quite weird.
Doctors striking, bin men too
a bitter pill to swallow
Nigel Farage at the head of the queue
what new party will he create tomorrow?
The NHS in disarray
unemployment rife
all the dentists have disappeared
what a way to live your life.
You may think I have no right to criticise
but I was here for 55 years
as I look at the carnage from far away
I am often led to tears.
Britain is still a wonderful place
it will be Great forever
let’s pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off
and put it back together.
Garry Davidson
Diminishing wildlife
Where, oh where, have all the animals gone?
The green Mallard duck, the feathery, ivory swan?
I used to see brown rabbits frolicking, wild and free.
Now I look out my window and there is nothing to see?
Not long ago, I noticed a russet brown Fox.
Pheasants galore, iridescent, the colour of the cock.
Hedgehogs, spiny balls, patrolled 'neath our hedge
and Badgers would roam close by, to the border's edge.
Plenty of birds, fed on seed and food scraps.
Maybe they've gone next door, maybe, perhaps?
Frogs and brown Toads were always a special sight.
Found near my pond, they crawled or leapt out, at night.
Chirpy sparrows would alight, chattering on the ground.
Grass snakes, slithered across the lawn, not making a sound.
Now it is quiet, they have visited us and all, have gone.
Depleted, man is the culprit, affecting every one.
Hunted, shot, poisoned, reduced habitats...
No wonder the populations have taken a dive,
I wanted to see these animals not dead, but alive.
They were part of the countryside, adding to the rural charm.
I love to see wildlife, such a "shot in the arm"!
It's a sad time for these creatures, for which I will always yearn.
If only man realised what an imposter he was- if only he would learn!
Laura Sanders
Recession
The word urges--
like a morbid taste.
Jobs lost post-haste,
dangling by a cord,
loosely moored.
Tilted, putrid--
London’s sewerage,
poisoning the vulnerable.
Has it?
Or are we just
taking another tumble?
Has anything really changed?
You’re suited, booted,
well-spoken, well-fruited,
making decisions--
polluted.
Capable?
Or just labelled so?
The damp days are over, they say--
a more robust London, stronger;
stiff upper lip--
please don’t trip.
Mass market mantra:
we will not fall.
So stand tall--
though decisions
still affect us all.
Sadiq Khan,
Keir Starmer,
Boris Johnson,
Nigel Farage--
A toot,
another one in,
another one the boot.
Change--
so close,
you can almost hear it:
toot, toot.
Nisha Pearson
Trump Wants Canada for a 51st state
A little love for the patriots
maybe your eyes water up a bit
and your hand just moves over your heart
the same holds true wherever it's home
even for an Eskimo up north in Nome
when the anthem’s on: something inside gets lit.
But is it country where it begins and ends?
Or is it something that runs naturally deeper
does a babe ponder the senate or high commission?
No, yet he smiles when he’s back home from the pediatrician
home is there before any civics class he attends.
When the posture of your country is troubling, just remember
we still stand at attention but it’s out of respect for more
streets where our mothers walked us to school
our fathers’ porches and life’s stories, to make a boy drool
for this, one’s own country, no one wants to offend her.
For our friends and amis north of us we love you dearly
but it’s been said before oh how words can hurt
you’ve been with us through Omaha and Juno
those of us here relive our trips to yours, just so you know
you’re our friends, it must be stated so clearly.
It’s a wonder sometimes where people can take up residency
but I see it painfully so in my dear home right here
some people are asking how a guy like this can get elected.
It’s easy just look at the opposition, half the vote was from the defected
have a purge, go back to JFK and maybe you’ll see a presidency.
To all our friends, north south east and west
we’re not a country of haters
it’s that high office won’t go to a gender denier
and if your focus is pronouns forget it you won’t make it either
patriotism could use some love so let’s all pray for the best.
Tom Bowler
Just one oak tree is home to 2,300 species, according to the Woodland Trust
The living oak tree
2,300 different dwellers thrive in an oak tree
- from the wise old Tawny owl,
to the stripey Bumblebee!
That's many types of homes, nests of twigs or straw.
To shelter flapping crows, woodpeckers,
blue-eyed jackdaws.
All these species flourish
in leaves and trunks and bark.
Some emerge in daylight,
others come out at dark.
Stripey caterpillars, butterflies,
beatles of shiny green.
Nature hides in the oak tree,
so as not to be seen.
Laura Sanders
The mighty oak
You're the grand, old man of the woods,
no one knows for how long you have stood.
Only your circular tree rings will reveal,
the length of time you've overhung that field.
Reaching out with twisted, brown, bare arms,
hoping you'll come to no sudden harm.
With bright, green glowing canopy,
you're a friend to the bird, owl and the bee.
And seeing all the folk come and go,
whilst weathering the rain, sun and snow.
Bet you could tell us many an interesting story,
some happy, some just plain gory!
Trying not to laugh at it all,
but reaching up skywards, proud and tall.
Stretching out desperate, for earth given life,
yet providing a safe haven, for all creatures, running rife.
With ridged and hoary, flaky dull bark
and wavy cut leaves, so green, yet dark,
a tree filled with many writhing "snakes",
you make the country, an interesting place.
Swaying alive, in hostile winds.
Oaks are my favourite, they will always win!
Laura Sanders
Trump wants Canada to be America's 51st state
A Patriotic Right
Protecting the boundaries of a country is a patriotic right
rules and regulations spelled out in black and white
radar to detect the unwanted, signs to mark the border
flags to mark the territory, military to keep the order.
Every person has a label to the country of their origin
proud with the association of like-minded friends and kin
not one to over-boast, but I love my home and native land
when I am travelling the world, it’s like my personal brand.
Ask me what makes it special and you could be there a while
stories of our upbringing that will surely make you smile
with our heritage and history, we will probably go on and on
proud to be connected with our own national anthem song.
But the last two hundred years have changed our world a lot
people crossing borders, calling home in a different spot
what will happen to our country, what will happen to our border
will we be conquered by a president with a personality disorder?
Don Hamaliuk
The wildfires of California
The ingredients for wildfire devastation were slowly blending
together. High winds, intense heat and a tinder box environment,
almost everything required. The only thing missing, a spark from a
bbq, or a cigarette butt thrown from the open window of a passing
car. Just a matter of when and not if.
Wilbur and Nancy were an elderly retired couple who lived in the
Palisades, near to Malibu. They had been watching the TV news for
hourly updates on the weather conditions, and noted how worried
the TV news and weather presenters appeared to be.
They had never been affected directly by the fires in the past but
acknowledged there would always be a chance they might be
diverted their way. They did all they could to prepare for the worst
but how on earth can you prepare for something that can destroy life
and property in just a few minutes?
They had two suitcases packed with essentials and a third with
valuables and ‘sentimentals’. The suitcases were neatly lined up in
the hallway. The car was kept outside of the garage and had a tank
full of gas. They were ready to go at the drop of a hat.
Their hearts were pounding and they were treading on eggshells as
news reached them that a couple of fires had ignited relatively near
by and were being whipped up by 70mph winds. The wind direction
should have directed the fires away from their house but changed in
a few minutes. They were ordered to evacuate immediately.
On the TV the President elect in his quest to make America great again
and oblivious to global warming, was attributing blame for poor fire
management to various state officials -
Wilbur and Nancy never made it to the car.
Garry Davidson
The California wildfires at it again.
Don H
Scrambling for a footing
Living ain’t always easy and there are times that it gets strained
confusion will set in when some things can’t be explained
a disaster in the making could destroy your family home
everyone around you is astounded, so you are not alone.
This carnage is threatening destruction, nothing is immune
scrambling for a footing when Mother Nature is out of tune
it all seems so very easy and you want to wish it all away
give relief from such anxiety that’s fogging-up this day.
But the reality of this disaster is it needs an immediate decision
and your future plans get hazy when viewed with foggy vision
a mind-numbing plan presented, your safety’s on the line
you should move to somewhere safer, where you will be fine.
Well that sounds so very easy, just pack-up a few things and go
leave all those treasured memories, what an emotional blow
you’ve built a family of this neighbourhood, the nicest one around
you ain’t goin’, you like it here, you’re going to stand your ground.
Don Hamaliuk
December 2024
About 11 million people in the UK, a quarter of the working age population aged 16 to 64 do not have a job. In the United States about 6.9 million people are unemployed, about 4.1 per cent of the population.
A new dawn of control
by Kamran Connelly
Hidden in a plain looking building, inside an unmarked conference suite, twenty-seven money monsters gathered in secrecy. Underneath the veil of anonymity, they sat with their true forms revealed. Horns, hoofs and fangs, freely hung. Among them, the heads of the IMF, the World Bank, the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve. All of them dressed in tailored clothes, worth more in total than the average house. The reason for the surreptitious assembly of clandestine characters, to initiate a crash. To deliberately steer the economy of the developed world off the edge of a cliff like Thelma and Louise, killing the monetary system. In order that a new dawn of control emerged.
“Current figures show a quarter of the population in the UK are out of work,” hissed the beast from the Bank of England.
“We’re not quite there yet. But we are hopefully that we can reach ten per cent, very soon,” huffed the horned creature from the Federal Reserve.
The boar from the IMF raised its filthy head from the trough of fine foods on the table and declared, “Print more! Devalue! Debase! More of them will lose hope. When the money becomes worthless. Work will be pointless,” she scoffed with a full mouth, spitting pieces of meat across the conference table.
The beast from England flicked its slimy forked tongue across the table to collect the scraps. “When it’s worth nothing, they will have no choice. Our stipend will be the only light in the darkness we create,” the boar continued.
“Here, here,” the monsters cheered, banging their hoofs against the table.
“We’ll give them digital tokens and call it money. Govern what they buy, where and when,” the boar said, “Then we’ll control every single one of them, and it will all be ours.”
Make America Great Again
Undermining accusing politicking in the greatest country on earth
bullying a way into power, attacking the opposition’s self-worth
vetoing every legislation, making deals that may never be kept
confusing the unsuspecting electorate will produce the desired effect.
Sitting on the fence on so many issues, what did they even say
the stand they took before is so much different than today
illegals sneaking in our country, we need to build the wall
a promise to reduce the national debt and tax cuts for all.
Can we get a “Hell Yea” President Trump is in the house
an achievement of the impossible without the fake news rouse
the whole world is watching a free country’s fair campaign
just to see what’s it going to take to “Make America Great Again”.
Don Hamaliuk
April 2024
Shoplifting is on the rise in the UK
Get rid of it
by Kamran Connelly
As the roller shutter went up it hummed with electronic assistance, as it wound in on itself to reveal the shop front window. Steve, who was stood at the box that operated them, didn’t notice the anomaly on the other side of the glass until he put his key into the door. Sat on the floor licking its gigantic paws was a German Shepherd, completely unknown to him. He jolted back as his eyes registered the image with his brain, and confusion besieged him. A car pulled in behind him and his business partner jumped out, gleeful and full of beans he arrived at his side.
“Well, what do think?” he asked.
Steve looked at him, smirking like an idiot and then back to the strange canine beyond the door.
“What do I think of what?” he replied.
“The dog, I got him last night. Thought I’d surprise ya.”
“Mission accomplished Terry, now tell me what the hell we’re supposed to do with him mate.”
“I told you I saw that documentary, shoplifting is on the rise in the UK. He’s fully trained to attack under command,” Terry bragged.
The pair gazed at the beautiful beast, its coat a mottled mixture of browns, more wolf-like in its size and presence.
“He looks the business doesn’t he?” Terry said with pride.
“Yeah, he does. Come here mate,” Steve said and guided Terry a few feet back from the window with a disappointed look.
He pointed at the sign over the shop. Terry looked up at it.
“What do we sell here Terry?”
“Holidays,” answered Terry.
“We’re a bloody travel agents Terry! There’s nothing to nick you idiot.”
Realisation smacked the pride from Terry’s face.
“Get rid of it,” Steve said and walked away.
Only the essentials
by Donna Turner
“That’s thirty-four pounds ninety, please love,” the cashier says to a young woman trying to balance a baby with one arm and reach for her purse with the other.
“Sorry. I don’t have enough.” Her eyes watery, her voice breaking, “Can I put something back?”
The cashier feels a lump form in her throat. This is a situation becoming more common.
Three customers yesterday had to take items off and one man had his card declined. After mumbling something about a missed payment, he left empty handed.
“That’s fine, how much do we need to lose?” she asked the young woman kindly.
“About five pounds please.”
The cashier felt worse. Sometimes customers got angry, but this woman was just sad, almost defeated. The cashier looked at the shopping; baby formula, value bread and beans, a few freezer fillers, toilet paper, there was nothing that didn’t feel like an essential item.
“I’ve just remembered,” the cashier told the young woman, “a customer earlier had a five pound voucher they didn’t need, they said keep it and give it to someone else. How about we use that?”
The young woman was visibly relieved. “Thank you, that would be great,” she said, struggling now to keep the tears from falling. The cashier took the young woman’s thirty pounds and put it in the till. She’d need to put the five pounds in later otherwise she’d be in trouble for her till being short.
She thanked the young mum and watched her walk towards the door, only to be stopped by the resident security guard.
“Excuse me miss,” he reached down to the basket under the battered buggy and pulled out a pack of nappies. “I don’t believe you’ve paid for these, You’ll have to come with me.”
The cashier's heart broke.
Open your windows
(inspiration from the 1976 film, Network)
I used to be afraid
of the angry dog next door, named Sugar.
Then I was afraid of swallowing an apple
pip, which could grow a tree inside me;
I stayed awake one long eye-wide night
waiting for its leafy branches to rustle
out of my ears at the speed of creation
birthing apples to outnumber the stars
and me ending as a five dollar-a-view circus freak!
My mother loved scary stories
though one night in a sweat I screamed,
"Mum! There’s a man
with a gun at my window!"
"Go back to sleep," said she yawing in her room.
How was I to know it was a shadow
shaped by a dead tree between the moon
onto my bedroom window!
Older, my wings grew and I flew
far from manipulating men
until I found a man dressed in white
who loves God greater than he loves me
then fear moved on to terrify someone else.
But lately my soul is vibrating
waiting for a knife to plunge my heart
in a supermarket – for a drone
to bomb my home – someone to murder me
as I walk in the bush alone. And nobody will
be gathering mushrooms from the shelves now;
I wonder if tinned mushroom soup is fatal?
I knelt in a church in a country town
and entered the fear-filled hush
of a congregation halfway through Mass
as thick oak doors slammed bang open
against the walls as a storm-filled man
thundered up the centre isle to the priest
yelling and waving his arms about.
"I want to speak to the Pope!"
Three men stood ready to save the priest -
thank God the man didn’t have a weapon!
Now I’m watching wars that need not happen,
causing children to starve and keel
to pick grains of rice out of dirt.
Before long Australia will be
a country of memorials!
I beg all people to NOW stand up!
‘Stand up from your chairs: man, woman and child
open your windows – stick your heads out
and yell, "I’m mad as hell
and I’m not going to take it any more!"
Jan Price
You walk in
without a care in the world, it seems
you help yourself
to the drinks, to the sandwiches
maybe you are just dirty thieves, scoundrels
or maybe you are desperate
hungry and starving
we do not know what life you lead
maybe you are desperate and take drugs and need money
so you swap food for cash
we see you, we notice you stealing
but maybe we are not noticing the reason why
when we look, when we serve
but don't think we don't care when we stand there
we walk in, we notice
but when all is said and done
you shoplift
and it is WRONG!
Kate Geoghegan
